A 15-year-old boy was violently attacked on Saturday evening by four armed and masked individuals in a street in Aarschot.
The victim was beaten severely. The assailants also threatened him with a knife and a firearm.
The attackers then fled in a car carrying two other individuals.
The police subsequently managed to arrest five suspects, including two minors, according to a statement issued on Wednesday by the Leuven public prosecutor's office.
During their escape, the assailants also struck a passerby in the abdomen with the vehicle's rear-view mirror.
They also collided with another vehicle that was attempting to stop them, according to the Flemish Brabant public prosecutor's office.
The car used in the escape was later found. Two suspects were in the car and were arrested. Three other people were then arrested. A sixth individual is still being sought.
The suspects are aged between 15 and 22, two of them minors.
Two adult suspects were released after being questioned by the police, while the third adult, aged 18, was placed under arrest by an investigating magistrate.
Regarding the underage suspects, the Leuven public prosecutor's office requested the appointment of a youth judge for one of them.
The case of the second young person was transferred to the Hal-Vilvorde public prosecutor's office.
